Waterproof connector assembly



May 12, 1970 H. F BEAN- 3,512,

WATERPROOF CQNNECTOR ASSEMBLY Filed April 3, 1967 28 I 18 26 l9 I6 24 K I 20 '4 Fig. 3 Fig. 4

INVENTOR HARLEY F. BEAN ATTORNEYJ United States Patent 3,512,120 WATERPROOF CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Harley F. Bean, Grapevine, Tex., assignor to Teledyne Industries, a corporation of California Filed Apr. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 627,826 Int. Cl. H01r 11/20, 13/58 US. Cl. 339-99 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A connector assembly for coupling one or more wires to terminals which have been drilled to receive the wires and which have piercing means to puncture the wires insulation and connect to conductors therewithin; the wires extending through waterproofing means including resilient packing confined between compression plates and this means having wire-clearance holes which are offset from the positions of the terminals; and the connector assembly having a thumb-screw closure which, when tightened, crimps the wires where they leave the terminals to prevent withdrawal therefrom, partly crushes the wires against the piercing means to establish and maintain electrical contact, and compresses the packing material between the plates and around the wires to exclude water from the vicinity of the terminals.

This invention relates to improved electrical connector assemblies especially adapted to make reliable connections between incoming wires and the terminals contained within the connector without requiring any tools whatever, and more particularly relates to connector assemblies for making waterproof connections.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an improved connector for making waterproof solderless connections between wires and terminals under diflicult circumstances as may be encountered during the assembling and disassembling marine seismic survey apparatus requiring highly reliable waterproofed electrical connections.

It is another object of the invention to provide an assembly for making a water proof electrical connection while at the same time providing excellent mechanical support for the wires to prevent accidental extraction thereof from the connector, the main mecahnical support for the wire being located beyond the point along the length of the wire where it is crushed against piercing means making electrical contact therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly whose body can be made from any one of a number of materials, including both conductive metal materials and non-conductive synthetic materials, the change from the latter to the former requiring only minor modification of the assembly.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an efficient and simplified connector assembly wherein the simple operation of manually tightening a closure cap on the connector body accomplishes three purposes simultaneously, namely, making electrical contact between the wires and the terminals within the connector, crimping oflsets into the wires to prevent physical withdrawal thereof, and waterproofing the entire connector assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a connector in which the portions of the wires which pass through the waterproofing seal are not abraded or seriously distorted by the sealing action or by wire-gripping means which serve to mechanically hold the wire against withdrawal, especially where the latter are located in the same area where the waterproofing takes place. In the present novel structure only the waterproofing is accomplished in the vicinity of the seal, and the outer periphery of the wire is uniformly gripped all the way around its circumference by the rubber sealing material, as distinguished from being jammed on one side of the wire against mechanically rigid structural members as is the case in many prior-art structures.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the following discussion of the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken through the axis of a connector assembly showing two wires connected to terminals therewithin;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the left-hand connection shown in FIG. 1, but with the screw closure removed from the connector so that the waterproofing packing is uncompressed;

FIG. 4 is a view of one of the packing-compression plates; and

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a modified form of connector.

Referring now to the drawing, identical parts in the several figures bear similar reference numerals. FIGS. 1 through 4 show an illustrative embodiment of the invention having a body 10 which is made of plastic material, or of some other material which is non-conductive. The lower portion of the body 10 has been omitted, but it is to be understood that this portion may be suitably shaped either for panel-mounting, or for cable-mounting. In view of the fact that the body 10 in FIGS. 1 and 3 is assumed to be made of an insulating material, the terminals 11 are directly mounted thereto as shown enlarged in FIG. 3, and these terminals may also include suitable solder lugs 12. The terminals are headed metal inserts which are advantageously held in place by nuts 13, although this illustration is not intended to exclude the case where rivet-type terminals are employed. Each of the terminals is drilled through its head to provide a hole 14 of suitable diameter to receive the wire 15, each wire including a conductor 16 and an insulating jacket 17. Moreover, the head of each terminal is countersunk as at 18 so as to provide an upwardly extending piercing lip 19 which makes electrical contact with the conductor 16 as shown at 20 in FIG. 3 when the wire is pressed down upon the lip 19 and partially crushed thereagainst.

The outer surface of the body 10 is externally threaded as at 21 to receive a closure member, such as a screw cap 22, having complementary internal threads. Cap 22 is preferably provided with wings 23 serving to provide a good grip when a person manually screws the cap onto the body 10. The body 10 also includes an internal bore 24 which is cylindrical in the illustrated embodiment and extends upwardly beyond the terminals 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. A pair of compression plates 25 and 26, the latter being illustrated also in FIG. 4, are slidably inserted into the bore 24, and serve to compress therebetween an elastomeric packing 27, the plates 25 and 26 and the packing 27 having clearance holes such as the holes. 25', 26, and 27' sized to snugly receive the wire 15. The holes 25', 26, and 27' are mutually aligned to pass the wire 15 straight through, but they are laterally offset to a considerable extent from drilled holes 14 in terminals 11, so that the wires are bent at least as they leave the terminal 11 and again as they enter the hole 26', to provide offset portions in the wires.

The lower plate 26 rests upon the wires 15 as at 28 in FIG. 3, and compresses the wires against the piercing lips 20. The wires when thus compressed support the plate 26 against further downward movement, and thereby confine the lower end of the rubber packing 27 within the bore 24. The plate 25, as shown in FIG. 3, rests upon the upper surface of the packing material 27, and in the absence of the closure cap 22 extends above the upper turface 29 of the body 10. When the cap 22 is screwed iown into the position shown in FIG. 1, the plate 25 is iriven downwardly flush with the surface 29, and there- Jy compresses the elastomeric packing material 27, and irives it tightly into sealing contact against both the cy- .indrical bore 24 and against the insulation 17 of the wires [5, thereby preventing the passage of water from out- ;ide the connector into the bore 24 in the vicinity of the ipper ends 19 of the terminals 11.

The closure cap 22 has an annular opening 30 to prolide clearance for the wires 15, and the cap may also 3e provided with suitable cable clamping means (not ;hown) on its upper surface 21 in the vicinity of the clearlIlCC opening 30.

Referring now to FIG. 5, this is a modified embodi nent in which most of the members remain unchanged. For instance, the same cap 22, the same plates 25 and Z6, and the same packing 27 can be used, but the body portion 32 is made of metal or some other conductive naterial. In this event the terminals 11 cannot be at- :ached directly to the metal body 32 because they would J6 short-circuited by it. Therefore, a different structure s provided comprising two insulating washers 33 and 34 )f suitable size to slide in the cylindrical bores 35 and 56. The latter are separated by an internal shoulder 37 against which the insulating washers 33 and 34 abut, and :hese washers are squeezed toward each other and against he shoulder by headed terminals 11 which pass through th washers and are secured by nuts 13. The terminals are thereby insulated from one another and also from he conductive body 32.

The present invention is not to be limited to the exact :mbodiments illustrated in the drawings, for obviously :hanges may be made within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A Waterproof connector for electrical wire compris- .ng:

(a) a body having a bore extending thereinto, said body having a shoulder within the bore and extending therearound, Washer of insulating material located against the shoulder on opposite sides thereof and having aligned terminal-receiving holes therethrough;

(b) spaced electrical terminals mounted in said terminal receiving holes, said terminals comprising headed metal inserts transfixing the washers and including means for squeezing the washers against the shoulder, and each terminal having a hole therein facing outwardly of the bore and sized to receive a wire;

(c) a plate in said bore overlying the terminals and having holes therethrough sized to pass the wires, the positions of these holes being offset from the holes in the terminals so that the wires leaving the terminals must have a portion offset from the holes in the terminals to pass through the plate;

(d) packing in the bore contacting the plate and surrounding the wires; and

(e) closure means closing said bore beyond the packing and including means for compressing the packing against the plate, the plate against the offset portions of the wires, and the latter against the terminals.

2. A waterproof connector for electric wire comprising:

(a) a body having a bore extending thereinto;

(b) spaced electrical terminals mounted in the body and each having a hole therein facing outwardly of the bore and sized to receive a wire, said terminals comprising metal inserts each having a head located in the bore and disposed transversely thereof, and each head being countersunk to leave a raised lip around its periphery extending outwardly of the bore to make contact with the wire when the latter is compressed thereagainst;

(c) a plate in said bore overlying the terminals and having holes therethrough sized to pass the wires, the positions of these holes being offset from the holes in the terminals so that the wires leaving the terminals must have a portion offset from the holes in the terminals to pass through the plate;

(d) packing in the bore contacting the plate and surrounding the wires; and

(e) closure means closing said bore beyond the packing and including means for compressing the packing against the plate, the plate against the offset portions of the wires, and the latter against the terminals.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,078,825 4/1937 Wisner 33997 FOREIGN PATENTS 8,069 1932 Australia. 17,480 12/1915 Great Britain. 412,939 7/1934 Great Britain. 716,686 10/ 1954 Great Britain.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner J. H. McGLYNN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 339l05 

